30th Flamerule. 1502 DR
-
Report 12
This assignment began with a journey through a teleportation circle to Waterdeep. Upon arriving, I was struck by a peculiar sense of familiarity. I cannot say that I have visited Waterdeep before, but something about it, the crowds, the markets, perhaps simply the atmosphere, felt reminiscent of somewhere I have been. We made our way through a rather busy market district, where I discovered a merchant selling trinkets. Their name contained far too many Q's for me to bother remembering, though their wares were considerably more interesting. I made a small purchase. Sunbeam, meanwhile, discovered a bucket filled with cooked poultry. He seemed very pleased with it.
Eventually, our wandering brought us to the villa of a prominent local family. I am uncertain whether they were technically nobility, but they certainly behaved as though they understood the game of court. To my surprise, I found myself enjoying it. Our hosts required assistance arranging a marriage proposal with another influential family. It was all very familiar: carefully chosen words, proper introductions, navigating expectations, and ensuring everyone involved believed they had gained something from the arrangement. I have done such things before, during my time among the Seelie Court. It was... pleasant to discover that I could still enjoy the game when playing it by choice. There was, however, a secondary objective. Another family possessed a compass our hosts wished to acquire. That immediately sounded far more interesting. After some discussion, the party elected to divide our efforts. I was quite prepared to retrieve the compass alone. Entering places unnoticed is hardly unfamiliar territory for me. One of my companions apparently disagreed with the wisdom of sending me alone and accompanied me instead, along with their drake, Glitrand.
Upon reaching the estate, we discovered its defenses consisted primarily of a rather substantial wall. I have wings. This presented very little difficulty. I separated from my companion and entered the grounds from above. After some investigation, I located a window I could open and slipped inside. As it turns out, the manor was haunted. Lady Death will need to hear about that later. Two spirits inhabited the house, sisters, from what I gathered. Rather than attacking me, they offered a bargain. If I entertained them, they would show me the way to the compass. This seemed perfectly reasonable. With a little fey magic, I provided the requested entertainment. I confess, I found the entire exchange rather endearing. They kept their word and showed me where I needed to go. By this point, Glitrand had somehow managed to find his way inside and joined me. Together, we descended into the basement and eventually located our prize. We also located mimics. Many mimics. Far too many mimics. I briefly considered our options and determined that fighting an entire basement of hungry furniture with only a drake for company was perhaps not my finest idea. So I retrieved Glitrand, secured our escape, and flew away from the estate.
Unfortunately, the evening had become considerably more complicated elsewhere. Two members of our party had been apprehended during the night's activities. On the brighter side, those responsible for arranging the marriage proposal appeared to have successfully secured the meeting they needed. So... mixed results. Still, I find myself strangely pleased with this assignment. I navigated courtly politics, slipped unseen into a guarded estate, bargained with ghosts, stole a compass, rescued a drake from a basement filled with mimics, and escaped through the night on my own wings. It reminded me of things I used to do.
Only this time, they were done because I chose to do them.
I think that made all the difference.
Adrean
Torgnarly
Noba-Di
